Project X
by Expressive Dissonance
Summary: AU. Sakura wakes up in the clutches of a mad scientist with no memory of how she got there. Somehow, she doesn't think the redhead pinning her to the ground is any happier about this than she is. What exactly IS Antibody X? GaaraxSakura. Violence, sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Yes, I know. I shouldn't be posting another fic that I probably won't finish anytime soon. But I needed to get this off my chest. This is a story that gives me a chance to indulge in a bit of nerdiness without going overboard. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know.

Title may change later, we'll see. Beta'd by lilybri, whom I thank for taking the time to do so.

...

* * *

A low, steady humming, punctuated by light scratching sounds, woke Sakura from her slumber.

"Subject PFX-01 seems to be responding well to the treatments."

What? Had she left the tv on again? Dammit. Her head was pounding and whatever was humming or buzzing was giving her a killer headache...

"Low response to stimuli, subject may possibly be exhibiting REM sleep patterns...registering faint impulses...may be reacting to sounds..."

Her lids flicker, but her eyes were so heavy; she just wanted to keep lying here and sleep forever. The low, droning voice was highly irritating, though. Her hand twitched with the urge to punch something.

Shut up, she wants to say, but her mouth is firmly shut and it feels like it's full of cotton and glue. A flash of insight strikes her-

Something doesn't feel right.

_Get up, _her inner voice shouts. _Get up __**now!**_

How long has she been asleep? What was she doing last night? Why is there an unfamiliar voice so close to her? She struggles against the waves of sleep threatening to bury her into unconsciousness once more.

"Ah, her brain pattern is changing, she's waking up," the irritating voice says.

Pale pink lashes laboriously lifted-and then promptly slammed shut as bright light floods her sensitive eyes. Sakura swore hoarsely and tried to clutch at her face, but her shoulders and wrists wrenched against something tight, causing her to groan at the unexpected pain.

"You're not used to the light after going so long without it," the voice informed her. It was a very matter of fact tone and it was vaguely condescending. Thankfully, the bright light in her face retreated, and Sakura breathed out in relief before cautiously cracking her lids. The sting was a little more subtle this time around, but it wasn't anything that she couldn't handle.

Bare white walls met her sight and she blinked for a second, wondering if she had somehow managed to land herself in the hospital. She frowned, her eyes struggling and failing to focus. It certainly had that medicinal smell and painfully white, sterilized look but there was some niggling sensation in her mind that had her foggy brain trying to stir itself and _think_...

Curious dark eyes peered down at her from behind thick glasses and silver-white hair. Sakura stared back in confusion. The man, surprisingly young despite his hair color, gave her a perfectly pleasant smile in return.

"Ah, you look well, PFX-01! How's your head?"

Sakura frowned, and her lips cracked at the suddenness of the motion. She winced at the sharp sting, then narrowed her eyes at the stranger and carefully moistened her lips before asking, "Excuse me?"

The man hummed lightly before giving her a falsely cheerful smile. "Ah, I see you're still a bit disoriented. Well, my name is Kabuto; I am your doctor and I'll be monitoring your vitals and breeding progression."

"What? _Breeding_?" Sakura growled, her throat feeling raw and abused from the force of her voice. "What the fuck are you talking about? I've never seen you before a day in my life!"

Or at least she thought so, anyway. Sakura couldn't really remember much at the moment. Did she have friends and family somewhere who were worried about her?

Kabuto tsked at her outburst. "You are a female who carries a rare gene that produces something called Antibody X; it is genetic information that is very important to my employer and myself. We're glad you've been cooperating with us on this project so nicely." The cold smile on his face froze Sakura's insides and made her stomach feel heavy.

Antibody X? Project? Cooperating? What in the _hell _was going on here?!

Her head turned and she tensed in shock at the sight of straps holding her hands and arms down; a light, testing pull of her legs informed her that her legs were also bound. She stared up at the male in front of her with wary eyes. "What do you want from me?"

Kabuto smiled down at her for a moment, a dark expectancy in his eyes. Sakura waited silently and was rewarded when he finally spoke; unfortunately, what he said next was not what she expected. "Do you believe in lycanthropes and shapeshifters?" he asked softly.

Sakura gaped once more, her green eyes wide and nervous. What kind of nut house had she been put in? "Are you some kind of nutjob?" she demanded. "That's ridiculous! No one believes in that bullshit!"

"Ah, but rest assured," a smooth voice whispered from somewhere beyond her field of sight, "_we_ believe in _you_."

At her side, Kabuto made some sort of motion that she couldn't quite catch, and the table she was lying on was suddenly tilting. Her eyes roamed over the weird-looking vials and syringes lying around and a few odd, cylindrical glass tanks filled with green-tinted or reddened liquid.

Jesus Christ, she was being held prisoner in some kind of mad scientist's lab and had no fucking idea how she'd gotten there.

A man walked around in front of her and Sakura felt her heart begin to accelerate at the odd, slitted pupils set in tiger-gold eyes. The man was thin, tall, and his long, dark hair, pale skin, and high cheekbones gave him a strange aura of aristocracy. The hard, flat look in his eyes made him look distinctly predatory; his entire visage screamed _unnatural, _and Sakura didn't like him one little bit. She tensed.

"Hello, my dear," the man said, his smile thin-lipped and indulgent. "I am Orochimaru, and you have something very important to me inside of you."

Sakura began to tremble. "This better be some sick joke," she spat, glaring daggers at Orochimaru.

The pale man laughed and Sakura watched in sickened fascination as a thick, unnaturally long tongue flicked out of his mouth before her. "I am perfectly serious, Haruno Sakura," he hissed softly, almost lovingly. "There is a select percentage of people out there just like you who have no idea of how important a role they play in this world."

_I am going to be raped and die_, she thought numbly._ I'm going to be killed by some insane freak with a huge tongue that will probably eat me and use my bones for his buddy's mad scientist studies._

"What are you?" she whispered, her lips barely parted as she shallowly began taking harsh, rapid breaths. She barely registered the rapid beeping of the heart monitor as flat golden eyes stared at her like an interesting morsel ripe for catching."_Why do you need me_?"

A prick at the inside of her elbow made her flinch and her eyes darted to the silver haired man watching her with that phony smile on his face. "Don't worry PFX-01, we'll take good care of you."

Her eyelids drooped. Even as she struggled against the drugs flooding her system at an alarming rate, she opened her mouth to protest, but coldness spread through her veins, lulling her heart's frantic beating into a slow thud. Sakura weakly cried out, her eyes rolling into her head as she moaned weakly.

The waves of darkness she'd just barely managed to fight back rose up from the corners of her vision, crashed over her, and then Sakura knew nothing once more.

…

* * *

The experiments they did on her were long, invasive, and at times brutal. Sakura had the impression that she'd always been an academic type; the first time she'd seen her unclothed body, it had looked soft, pale, and unscarred, as if she had never been outside in the sunlight or done hard labor before.

Now though, her pale skin was littered with needle marks and scars from where blood and flesh had been regularly stripped. After that first initial encounter with Orochimaru, Kabuto never bothered to answer her anymore. No matter how much she demanded, cried, screamed, or begged to know what was going on.

It was like she'd been stripped of her status as a human being and had no right to do anything anymore. They didn't even bother to use her name beyond that first mock 'introduction'. To them, she was Subject PFX-01, a unique specimen that held the secrets to their insane genetics project or whatever the fuck it was.

"Well, PFX-01, you'll be happy to know that we've collected sufficient data on you and will no longer need to draw eggs and tissue samples from you," Kabuto said to her after what seemed like weeks of silence, his dark eyes disturbingly cheerful in the face of his words. "Now, we can begin the preparations for the more interesting parts of the experiment."

Sakura merely stared blankly in surprise, her aching body long since grown too weary to fight or struggle against them. She'd noticed that a lot about Kabuto. He had ideas with what he'd like to do with her that he couldn't follow through with, without express permission from Orochimaru, but he talked about them to himself when he thought she was unconscious. Often. No matter how disturbing his fantasies were or how disquieted she grew.

Suddenly the scientist before her began prepping a needle with slow, measured movements.

"The difference between lycanthropes and shapeshifters is very simple, PFX-01. Shifters are not limited to a single form in their lifetime, and they are born with the potential to develop shapeshifting abilities once they hit puberty. The ones who can transform usually adapt to a specific species of animal; the more powerful the shifter, the more animals and color varieties they can adopt. Shapeshifters have complete control over their ability once they pass puberty and gain and lose power based on solar and lunar cycles.

"Lycanthropes, however, are those who have not been born with the ability to shift. They have latent genes from a shapeshifter ancestor that could not transform and have been infected by a shapeshifter's bite or blood. They gain the ability to transform, but they have no control over it once their lunar or solar cycle sets in."

Even as she listened to Kabuto, Sakura watched with a spike of fear as a vial filled with an unknown, viscous red fluid was carefully affixed to the needle that the scientist was fiddling with.

"This is blood from Specimen RMX-02," Kabuto said conversationally as he lightly began preparing her vein for the injection. The cold swipe of alcohol made her flinch. "He is like you, but he has been chosen for this experiment from birth, as his father-an associate of ours-specifically bred him for this purpose."

Sakura grew cold. What kind of monster would promise their own child for experiments under someone like this? It was disgusting and inhumane.

The horrifying glint of excitement in his eyes made Sakura tense and attempt to strain backwards. Uncaring of her unease, the mad doctor efficiently injected her with the tainted blood, and sent a curious glance to the screen monitoring her vitals as he did so. "Unlike _you _though, he is stronger, faster, and a full breed shapeshifter."

Sakura froze at the implications.

Even if they rarely discussed the experiment with her and Kabuto had never revealed what he just had, Sakura had picked up enough to know that lycanthropy was like a disease; once you got tainted by the blood or saliva of a powerful enough shapeshifter, your body's bloodstream would begin to produce the virus strain in mass amounts until it had the ability to literally remodel your body at will. Your organs and immune system would be strengthened, and your senses would multiply to something way beyond the capabilities of a normal human.

It was also incredibly painful. She'd seen what Kabuto's other test subjects went through when they were injected with the various strains. And now one of those strains was running through her system, seeking to change her inside and out.

It was silent for a while as Kabuto spent the next hour or so alternately setting his beady little eyes on her and her vitals whilst jotting down notes on his chart. Whatever he was expecting didn't seem to be going to happen anytime soon.

Sakura wasn't sure whether this was good or bad, just yet.

Then a twinge of discomfort hit her. Sakura stiffened and Kabuto immediately leaned over her with his ever-present curiosity.

It was like cold fire was racing through her veins, making her skin all over her body abruptly begin to pimple with goosebumps. Her pupils dilated into odd, thin slits as blue veins began visibly outlining themselves under pale skin from the strain of what was happening inside. Sweat began covering her forehead and she shuddered as the sound of her own heartbeat began drowning out her other senses. Sakura gasped and abruptly bit down on her tongue as her eyes shut and she arched as hard as she could away from the icy cold grip of the examination table.

_Too much, too much, _her nerves were sending. Every touch was incredibly painful, and even the clothes on her back felt like sandpaper dragging through open wounds.

Something oddly sweet and thick filled her mouth as her teeth began to ache and throb in harsh pulses. Tears leaked down her face as she choked and gagged on the liquid-_blood, blood, it's my blood- _

and she could hear alarmed shouting from seemingly far away as something cloth-like was forced into her jaws and the feel of a warm body settling atop her own brought forth an odd, guttural sound from her throat as she began to struggle in earnest against her bonds.

_Don't touch me, donttouchme, DON'T TOUCH ME, IT HURTS!_

Something snarled in the distance and Sakura decided she did not want to know where it came from.

The bed groaned ominously with each ferocious jerk of her body as she fought to escape the sensations overwhelming her until there was a sharp crack in her shoulder and wrist, which she responded to with a howl of pain. Suddenly, her hand was gloriously _free_, and God her fingers-_her fingers-_ they felt like they were ripping in two, and then they were buried in something soft, warm, wet and squishing like pulp between her knuckles-

Sakura fell into the darkness screaming.

...

* * *

When Sakura awakened, every joint in her body was screaming in pain. Her body was oddly restless, her mouth dry and her skin tingling as she began to impatiently pace the small confines of her prison cell. A few quick gulps of water solved one of the problems, but the sudden urge to throw herself against the bars of her cage made her grasp her head in alarm.

A strange scent, musky, sharp, and annoying rose from her perspiring body and Sakura snorted in disgust. It wasn't BO, necessarily, but it was...potent. You'd think the fucking morons would clean her properly. She glared for a long moment and then lashed out at the bars; almost immediately she recoiled and growled in pain at the forcible jolt of electricity.

She grunted in annoyance, hobbling a bit before finally giving up and sprawling onto her cot.

After a minute or so of lying there with her eyes closed, she began to notice that something was...off. Her eyes narrowed as she slowly raised her body off the bed. A soft thrumming sound met her ears and she struggled to place it as she lightly put her feet on the ground. It was a low rushing sound, like something at high speed moving...

Moving. She was moving. The sound was of the wheels on open road, with the occasional thump of uneven gravel and rock. Her green eyes blinked in surprise. In all the time she'd been here, she'd never had them move her cage before. Where could they possibly be moving her?

"Ah, I see you're done with your reaction," Kabuto's voice finally said. Her head turned towards the bars to see the man himself giving her his usual false pleasant smile.

"Reaction?" Sakura asked. She blinked at the sting in her throat and the rough, hoarse sound of her own voice. It sounded as if she'd been screaming for hours on end.

"Yes, well, you were bound to have one from the transformation, but I may have forgotten to factor in blood type differences. You had what's called a hemolytic blood transfusion reaction. It was quite interesting to see how well your cells fought to overwhelm the injected solution; you have a powerful immune system with rapid response time. That very speed is what made you ill."

Sakura glared. "What does that mean?"

"Simple. Your body recognized the threat faster than most would and attacked it; most normal people's cells fold immediately under those of a lycanthrope, but yours actually resisted for a time; I was worried by the lack of reaction until your body began trying to force the change."

"Change?" she said hollowly.

"Yes, you took rather well to it, I think. Maybe it was the powerful strain we gave you, but the instant you changed, you were able to free yourself from your bindings and nearly ripped a guard's heart out of his chest when he tried to touch you."

_I knew it, _Sakura thought, her insides freezing at his last sentence. _They actually did it. They turned me into a monster._

"Right now we're going to conduct the first experiment and see just how well your new strain has taken to your body. Not only that, but we've given you the sufficient hormone dosage to promote the mating response in today's other participants."

Sakura eyed Kabuto wearily, her eyes narrowed on his entirely too pleased expression. Did he really mean what she thought he meant? Surely they wouldn't...

"Other participants? Mating response?"

The doctor nodded, his dark eyes sharp on her own as he smiled disarmingly. "Yes. In roughly fifteen minutes you will be released into an open field on an island specifically chosen for its seclusion. There are hidden monitoring devices that will record your vitals and response to environmental stimuli. You will be given a five minute head start before the other experimental males-all lycan and shifters of various types-will be released to pursue you. All of you will be given drugs to suppress the change, but nothing else. Should your instincts be in proper order, then only the strongest male will get to mate with you; should you fail in that aspect...Well, you will either be rutted by as many males that can catch you or torn to shreds while they fight over the right to claim your body."

…

* * *

The din as her cage was lowered was deafening. Animalistic howls, grunts, and growls echoed around her as large forms forcefully butted against their cages, struggling for release. Sakura felt bile rising in her throat at the thought of those vicious snarls and bodies coming for her, intent on raping her and forcing her to accept a brutal coupling without protest.

Someone was screaming obscenities while others growled or screamed at him and Sakura grit her teeth. They'd all been reduced to little more than animals; it was sickening and horrifying, but she had no choice but to run when they opened the cage.

She had no desire to die just yet.

The buzzer went off and the bars slowly began to rise. Sakura felt something wild within her spread throughout her body, and her entire body readied itself to spring. The bars rose.

Five inches off the ground...

...ten...

….thirty...

The instant the gap was wide enough, she scrambled out on all fours, her heart pounding as her blood began to sing with adrenaline. The wind blew her scent backwards and the noise behind her became ominously silent.

Then the first howl rang out.

And the second.

Soon other voices filled the air, the notes eager and deep, throaty with the thrill of her scent being forced to their attention. Fear made her move faster, eager to get further into the trees so that she could lose herself in the darkness of the forest.

From his spot above the rest of the cages, Orochimaru watched impassively as their prized female vanished; on some level he was certain that the experiment had worked. Even he, a reptilian lycan with a different chemical balance than that of the mammalians they'd acquired, had felt the pull of her gene flaring in his veins. Whatever the outcome of this experiment, it was sure to be a good show, he decided, his lips pulling into a thin, pleased smile. He turned to Kabuto.

"Release them."

"Now? But sir, I told her five minutes and it's barely been two..."

"Do it," he hissed, eyes locked onto the area she'd vanished into.

Kabuto knew that tone. He lifted the remote hesitantly and pressed the release key.

The cage doors silently swung open.

The howling grew silent once more. The dark shapes darted forth from their prisons so fast, they were mere shadowed blurs upon the ground as they took off into the direction the female had gone. A few of the specimens took a cautious sniff of the air and looked in their direction, their faces creased in angry snarls. One in particular with vibrant teal eyes peeking between crimson strands of hair turned to look at the both of them, his face human but still utterly unapproachable by the sheer hatred in his eyes.

The wind shifted, and then all the males left behind, even the latter, turned their gazes and loped off to claim their prize.

…


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Didn't expect such a nice response. I guess other people share my geek kink too, lol. Enjoy ch2!_  
_

...

* * *

_Run_, her body sang as she dashed headlong through the trees as if all the demons of hell were at her heels.

Sakura had never before felt herself move so smoothly and fluidly with so many obstacles in her path. She glided over the ground, leapt over fallen tree trunks, pushed herself through thistles, and flung herself through the trees as if she had done it a million times before. The contortions her body made were beyond unnatural; they should have sent her body into spasms of pain, but it moved into seemingly impossible positions with ease, almost..._welcoming_ the movements.

Against her own want, excitement began to bubble beneath her skin. The cool breeze was caressing her skin, and the scents around her made something wild and expectant claw at her insides, happily bathing in the soothing feeling of _freedom_.

Her body dove forward abruptly, startling her from her thoughts, but her hands were already up to catch herself as she landed over a fallen tree trunk and began to scramble away on all fours. The sound of something large crashing through the bushes alerted her just as an unidentified male snarled and lunged at her, his hands reaching for the leg closest to him. Automatically, she twisted midair, the motion smooth and fluid; the male, unsuspecting, thudded into a tree behind her with a sharp yelp.

She zigzagged suddenly as the sound of more pursuers met her ears, eyes sharp and wary as the howling and snarling made her breathing double in fearful anticipation. Some of the males began to leap at one another, entangling themselves in a rolling ball of limbs, snapping and snarling while they tried to tear out the others' throats with blunt, human hands and teeth. The small flare of excitement flooding her body intensified and she lifted her head, her neck straight and unhindered as a high, wavering howl echoed in the air from her throat.

It was a question, an invitation; everything in her turbulent mind was melding and filling the air with her voice. The answers were instantaneous; some were filled with feral challenge, and some had eager question, but one in particular, far off but rapidly approaching caught her interest. It was dark and powerful, the voice utterly confident in its ability to pursue and catch her. Her body thrummed in response to the challenge as she dodged another male's swipe at her legs and lashed out at his unprotected back, sending him rolling across the ground.

Another growling male dropped from above, eyes wide and teeth bared, but she noticed it far too late. She tried to halt her momentum, but she was going too fast; she couldn't stop.

A much leaner form intercepted him, catapulting the both of them from her path. Grateful for the interruption, Sakura changed course, her body still going strong. Oddly enough, the longer she ran, the more eager she became. She howled again; this time in triumph as she leapt past a thorny patch of bushes, ignoring the sting of her arm as blood began to flow from the wounds.

Her instincts were in full gear now. This was not a simple chase anymore; this was _survival._ And only the fittest would survive to match their strength and wit against her own.

A man with wild eyes dove at her from her left side, his eyes nearly wheeling in his head from his desperation. Sakura twisted and transitioned so smoothly into a backhand that the male never even saw it coming. His neck cracked with the force and he crumpled into a heap on the ground.

He did not get back up.

Victory made her laugh wild and slightly hysterical as she pivoted and began to circle the group pursuing her. She was not prey. She was a _hunter_. She would weed out the weak and test the strong.

What little bit of humanity left inside of Sakura wept.

…

* * *

Her pursuers were steadily being dwindled down by her and their own squabbling and infighting. She had counted a good twenty-something scents scattered throughout the trees, but she'd only come across nine or so. Four had been chased off by a few well placed snarls and growls and the other five...well, the other five would not be chasing her or anyone else ever again.

From her position crouched in a tree, she watched in anticipation as another male viciously kicked the unmoving body of his opponent until he was satisfied that it was truly dead. After a moment though, he lifted his head, nose raised to the air. Lust-hazed gray eyes widened as he saw her still form settled above him, her slitted emerald eyes like hardened jewels glittering in the darkness.

Sakura struck.

She landed on the large male and her body danced at the prospect of subjugating and dominating a creature with such mass and strength. His hands raised to pull her off his back, but she had firmly wound her arms around his neck. As he thrashed in her grip, grunting and growling threateningly, she grasped the sides of his head and _wrenched_ it with as much force as she could possibly muster.

The brute toppled with a strangled gurgle, and she slithered off before he dropped to the ground, her body tensed in a crouch as he twitched spasmodically. After he stilled and showed no signs of life other than rough, raspy breathing, she walked around into his view and watched as his eyes stared at her approach. Her hand reached out to cautiously touch his face, but he made no sign that he felt it other than the movement of his eyes following her fingers.

She had paralyzed him. Guilt and shame tried to rise to the surface, but only a dark satisfaction curled in her breast as she reached out a hand and clamped it around his throat.

_Best to end his suffering now_, her own inner voice murmured darkly. A male that can't defend himself is better off dead than helpless to his enemies and the elements, she reasoned. She was being merciful by not letting him lie there defenseless and alone.

There was no struggle, no resistance as his face slowly turned blue with asphyxiation until he stopped breathing altogether.

For a moment Sakura stared down at the body of yet another victim, her eyes wide and disbelieving as she glanced at the blood covering her hands and hiding under her nails. Her vision blurred with tears as her hands began to shake.

"Wh-what am I...?"

_What am I becoming?_

Or was this all she had ever been; a monster hiding in the skin of a lowly human woman?

Sakura dragged in a deep breath of air, trying to regain control of her roiling emotions, and brought back a menagerie of scents that made her shoulders relax, but there was a slow budding heat in her abdomen that had grown during her hunts that shocked her. Her fingers flicked over her chest in curiosity, and her breath hitched at the unexpected flare of lust.

She was _aroused_ by this.

By the chase, the hunt, the blood and the gore. Every fleeting step, every death she'd caused...She was getting off on killing other living beings.

Monsters or not.

_What the fuck had they done to her?_

She stumbled towards the river, her hands shooting up to cover her mouth before she could be violently ill. Some new instinct told her that heaving now would only leave a trail of weakness that could get her caught.

After she emptied her stomach into the flow of running water, she washed her face and cleaned her mouth, ashamed and sickened by the lust ensnaring her body. Even after all that, she was still revved up like a racehorse ready to run at full speed.

"Fuck," she whispered in realization, panting through her nose. "The goddamn pheromones are kicking in."

This was bad.

She backed away, ears suddenly straining as her body tensed with alertness. It was silent in the forest, whereas there had been insects chirping away not too long ago. Shit, Sakura thought, whirling on her feet to start to run again. She'd been still for too long and hadn't been monitoring her surroundings.

She had to get away _now_-!

The attack came so suddenly, so fiercely, it knocked her off her feet.

Instinctively her body tucked itself and rolled with the force of the impact as something large and decidedly dangerous slammed into her from behind and clamped hands on her arms, restraining her so tightly that there was no hope of her knocking him away. Even at this knowledge, she felt a sudden flare of _want_. _Here_ was what she had been released for; this strength and desire that was so feral and primal that it was making her blood sing in recognition.

Even so, she instinctively slipped into full-on defensive mode, shrieking, snarling and bucking beneath the eerily silent male.

She struggled futilely beneath the oppressive weight, her body bucking and twisting as best as it could while furious snarls burst from her lips. Her uncontrollable flailing managed to get an arm free and she dug her nails sharply into the loose dirt.

Warm breath fell on her neck and then teeth clamped down on her nape; the damp, abrupt sensation instantly startled her out of her wild haze. She froze, panting as a low, rumbling growl puffed heated air on the back of her neck. As the wild heat spread from the nerves in the nape of her neck, she gave a weak whimper and went nearly boneless.

The scent. Oh god, the _scent_. It was like all the wildness flooding her body was suddenly given form and she could _smell _it on this magnificent male as surely as she could _feel_ it. It was so utterly _male_ and inviting that there was nothing else on her mind but _mate_.

The creature rapidly overpowering her mind struggled to claw free of her last remaining shreds of humanity, demanding that she submit, mate, _breed_. The dark, musky, earthy scent the male was emitting as his low, raspy growl vibrated over her nerves made her lick her lips in anticipation and she shifted her thighs restlessly at the sudden ache between them.

Sakura whimpered submissively.

The body on top of hers stilled warily at her small movements; with the lightest of shifts, fever-warm hands came down and pinned her own carefully, as if afraid to hurt her, or of being hurt by her. After a moment or two of no reaction from her save her faint trembling and harsh breathing, the sharp teeth buried in her sensitive nerves slowly unclenched, causing her to shiver violently as knees were carefully planted on either side of her sprawled body.

"Are you going to fight me if I let you go?" the male asked. The low, rough sound of his voice sent another jolt of pure heat pooling low in her belly. His voice was like his growl: feral, raspy, and _sinful._

Her hand clenched in the dirt at the sound, and he tensed in response, but slowly, she felt her body settle a bit. When she was certain she could think in more human terms, Sakura meekly shook her head, her pink hair brushing the ground and catching on dead leaves.

Slowly, hesitantly, the hands pinning her own released them and her body cried out at the loss of that smothering contact on her skin. She could feel the male sit up from his close lean over her body and waited patiently as he crouched and carefully backed away from her.

Sakura sat there trembling, her pulse doubling as her mind screamed, _run, fight, mate_! The other half was silent and watchful, latching onto every movement the unknown male made. She levered herself onto her arms and knees, clenching her teeth as her own scent reached her nostrils. It was like a fucking broadcast to every male in the vicinity and it made her both excited and sick.

_Come fuck me_, it said. _I want to mate_.

Her half-sob, half-laugh caught the attention of her hovering watcher. "Are you ok?"

She opened her mouth to speak and got nothing but a small croak on her first attempt; she cleared her throat and tried again. "No," she managed to choke out after a moment, her voice low and husky.

There was a considering silence for quite a while, then the sound of crunching leaves met her sharp ears as the male stood. A pale, calloused hand was forced into her field of vision and she examined it in puzzlement before slowly raising her head to follow it up...and up.

Pale seafoam green eyes surrounded by the bruise like rings of insomnia were staring into her own, and she felt her breath hitch at the low burn in them. So, he wasn't entirely unaffected then; he was just better at hiding it than the others. The shifting breeze brushed across blood colored locks on the man's forehead, briefly flashing her an odd, scar-like pattern before his bangs resettled over it. As she watched, he tensed under her scrutiny, his chiseled jaw clenching as he suddenly reached forward-ignoring her wary attempt to dodge-and closed his hand forcibly around her wrist to bring her to her feet. For a second, Sakura wobbled there, her knees weak at his close proximity; a faint blush crossed her face at the damp warmth she could feel soaking her inner thigh.

A quick glance up to the stranger's face revealed a pinched, closed off expression and she gave a light tug at her wrist, which was still firmly grasped in his large hand. She licked her lips again and watched in prey-like fascination as her action was mimicked. "You can let go now."

The stranger gave her a slow blink, his nostrils flaring; she could see a faint tint of gold in them now, and the animalistic consideration filling them. "...why?"

Incredulity filled her gaze as she stared at him. "I know you're a lycan or shifter of some type; surely you can smell for yourself why I can't stay here?"

More gold flickered into his eyes before he suddenly breathed out of his nose and closed his eyes. Briefly, his hand tightened on her wrist, and when he opened his eyes again, they were back to that first startling shade of blue-green.

Slowly, he leaned over her, ignoring her small, indignant squawk and trembling form as he buried his face into her hair and inhaled as much of her scent as he dared. The raging fire of lust that had prodded him to chase her leapt to the front of his senses once more as the musk of her arousal barreled into him. As if burnt, he released her hand and jerked back, his green-gold eyes hooded and focused intently on her.

"You have it," he rumbled, his voice deadpan but almost unnoticeably breathy.

Sakura felt her teeth grit, and used her own anger to help push back the searing lust addling her senses. "I don't know what 'it' is, but I know that every male including you on this island is trying to hunt me down and turn me into a fucking broodmare right now," she snapped, glaring at the stranger's infuriatingly impassive face. Here she was, practically drowning in lust, and he looked as if he was barely affected!

The male gave her a condescending look that was tainted with the slightest hint of pity. "The X gene," he clarified, slowly. "They released you to see how we'd all react."

"Oh, that makes things _so_ much better," Sakura said scathingly. "I guess I should just go back to them and tell them how the instant I took off running you all started fighting over me like a pack of wolves over raw meat," she hissed. Another low breeze flitted by her, and goosebumps rose over her skin; the chill in the air was a stark contrast to the raging fire simmering in her veins that was waiting for acknowledgement.

"When you get pregnant the chase will end," his voice said quietly, and the words startled Sakura so much that she stared up into dull golden eyes that were once more intently regarding her with animalistic scrutiny.

For a second, Sakura couldn't breathe. Did he think what she thought he meant? She was supposed to just...submit like some kennel bitch and let herself be experimented on for those sickos?

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" she demanded, clenching her fists as she took a wary step backward. To her dismay, he matched it without ever taking his eyes off hers.

"You don't," he retorted. Once more green flickered in his gaze...and then the gold reasserted itself as the male once again took another step forward.

_Shit, he's just like the rest, _she thought, feeling the sharp slap of panic flooding her body with adrenaline once more. She knew she was no match for this man. Had they both been normal, she would be outclassed; as it was, they were both monsters, but he was probably far stronger than her. Both man and woman stared at each other; Sakura poised for flight, and the stranger tensed and wary in anticipation of her move.

She may be weaker, but still-

A snarl came from behind her and she barely had time to turn and react before the red haired stranger's lips curled into a snarl of his own and he lunged at their attacker. Claws slid out of his fingers like wicked daggers and with a hard thump the two males met midair.

The two men were a blur of snarling and biting as they grappled and rolled on the ground before her. Sakura watched in muted fascination as the redhead sunk his teeth into the brown haired male's arm and yanked, heralding the sharp snap of a broken bone. A pained scream came from his victim as blood sprayed, but before he could retaliate, the larger male's hands slashed upward and a choked gasp punctuated the end of the fight.

The thick, coppery scent in the air made Sakura's nostrils twitch eagerly; the moment she caught her body's response, she clenched her teeth and forcibly breathed the smell out of her nose. A few feet away, the red haired man jerked his claws from the soft flesh under his opponent's jaws and gave Sakura a sharp, assessing look from intent golden eyes.

The terrified, wide eyed look on her face must have made him hesitate, for the gold in his eyes rapidly receded to seafoam green once more and he blinked groggily before glancing at his bloodied hands. He grimaced, wiping them on his shirt.

He reached a hand out for her. "Listen..._don't run_," he ordered when she made as if to take off. She froze and his forehead wrinkled and nostrils flared sharply as the gold lanced through his eyes before flickering out.

He shook his head as if clearing some sound that only he could hear out of it. "Look, just come with me and stay low."

"_Why_?" Sakura asked warily. anyone else would desperately latch onto the stranger's offer, but her response to him made her more wary of him than all the other males combined. And given his hungry eyes and secretive manner earlier, she had no real reason to trust him.

"If you run, you'll make it harder for me to control myself," he said urgently when she took a step backward. Seeing her stiffen and pause warily, he offered her a grim smile. "As long as you come with me and cooperate, I may have a way for us to get out of here."

The seriousness in his voice was like a bucket of ice water to her libido. How could she have forgotten the entirety of the predicament she was in? They were probably being watched and monitored by Kabuto and Orochimaru this very minute! She should have been trying to cooperate with these men to get off this hellhole away from those sickos, not killing the other victims in cold blood.

Still, she didn't quite trust this guy. What if he just wanted her willing when he tried to fuck her? Maybe he was in this for his own gain and would impregnate her in exchange for his own freedom.

"What about the others?" she asked suspiciously.

He shook his head. "Too far gone, they're pumped up on too much testosterone and pheromones to be of any use. They're little more than animals right now."

When Sakura just looked at him, her eyebrows raised pointedly, he sighed through his nose. "The drugs don't completely work on me, but _they _don't know that," he confessed. "Does that answer all your questions now, Princess?" he mocked.

"My name is Sakura, douche," she said sharply. This guy was such a _jerk_.

"I'll call you by your name if you call me by mine," he said without a hint of humor as he began to walk. After a moment of indecision, Sakura finally followed, her mind intrigued by the stranger and his odd mannerism. When he said no more, she raised narrowed her eyes.

"_Well?_" she said to his retreating back impatiently.

"Gaara," he muttered, signaling her to be quiet and hurry.

…


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Unbeta'd. My betas sort of poofed from busyness. So any takers are welcome to it. Anyway, this turned out longer than I meant for it to be. Enjoy!

...

* * *

Gaara was beyond annoyed. He was borderline _furious_.

His whole life he'd been used as a lab rat in some capacity or other. And by his own father no less. His lack of socialization was a direct result of that, so his wild, feral nature was not unexpected; given his "blessed" genealogy, he had more than enough power to make people leave him alone when he wanted them to.

The X gene. Antibody X. The gene that produced the strain of a shifter's blood and determined its potency and strength over their lifetime. He'd been born and raised knowing that he was nothing more than a test subject, and just how much stock his father had put into testing his behavior and control of his abilities.

Most shapeshifters were allergic to pure silver; it would eat away at their skin or break them out into rashes with prolonged exposure to their skin. Gaara himself had little to no reaction to it outside of his body, and had even had it directly injected into his bloodstream numerous times with little more than faint nausea as a result.

He had control over various canid species as his father and mother both had, but he favored a rare creature known for its secretive nature-the tanuki. His father had seemed disappointed in the choice, but when forced to, Gaara had chosen other forms.

After his father had died, the experiments had stopped for a while. His brother and sister had swooped in when he was twelve and taken him away from the labs, their eyes filled with guilt and outrage at the knowledge that their father had hidden their youngest pack member away from them and the atrocities he had been put through since birth. They had no idea that he had even existed until Temari had come across his charts and data in her father's files. They had thought he had died along with their mother during his birth, but when they had found out otherwise, their misplaced guilt at having never questioned their father's decisions and secretiveness had caused them to seek him out and free him.

At first, it had been terribly awkward. For such a pack-oriented shifter, Gaara was a terrible loner, his sociopathic tendencies a frequent cause for ferocity and violent outbursts against his well-meaning siblings and their older pack mates. A few people, not liking the wild redhead's vicious, impassive demeanor had challenged him only to be killed in the heat of his rage.

Naturally, it had marked him for seclusion in the pack, and it had taken everything in Temari and Kankuro's power to keep him from being exiled. So they had kept him at home, hidden far away from everyone while they tentatively tried to reach out to their belligerent, horrendously powerful little brother until he could be reintroduced to society. Shapeshifters and their unfortunate lycan counterparts were not known of in the human world, so if he could not even get along with others of their kind, then how could he venture out into the world with humans and not cause major incidents that would expose their very existence?

Gaara had been a seething mass of furred rage for a long time until one blond shifter from another pack by the name of Naruto had foolishly risked his own neck to try and befriend Gaara. The redhead had been out in his animal form hunting to relieve some of his ever-present pent up aggression when the fox had approached him in a friendly manner.

Naturally, Gaara's first response was to attack him. Viciously.

Shockingly, the other male had fought back. Not only had Naruto fought him off, but he'd trounced him thoroughly, sending him home with his tail between his legs. He had earned Gaara's respect and wariness. The rare gene Gaara possessed made it so that not many people could match his power and ferocity in battle, so to be beaten so expertly by someone his own age had pierced his blood red haze of isolated madness.

Curiosity had replaced it instead, especially when Naruto had come back once Gaara had recovered and re-extended his offer of friendship.

How did the blond control his beast so easily? He had often wondered. How could he be so powerful and yet so gentle and friendly at the same time?

The change had been good for Gaara. He had learned that Naruto, too, had the unnaturally strong genetics that he held, but he was far more cautious and protective of his friends and pack mates. Naruto had introduced Gaara to more friends, improving his tolerance, and he had learned how to coexist somewhat peacefully with others-to his siblings' extreme relief.

That had been years ago. Now at 23, Gaara had been quietly making his way to Naruto's for a long overdue visit the blond had badgered him into when he'd been ambushed by Orochimaru's goons. He'd only managed to kill one or two before the sedatives had kicked in.

So he'd spent the last week or so as a lab rat again, pissed and miserable as he snapped at anyone who came close enough. He remembered Kabuto and Orochimaru well enough from the old days; it was no surprise that they had sought him out for more testing. Fortunately, his siblings had found his location and sent word of their coming to retrieve him through a planted guard.

Unfortunately, he'd been moved a full day before they were scheduled to arrive.

He'd just managed to take the tracer the planted guard had given him, and then he'd been immersed so fully in the chase of this woman whose scent was wrestling his hard-earned control from him almost effortlessly. He had no choice but to thrust aside his instincts and try to find them a way off the island or somewhere on the outskirts where he could watch for his sibling's approach.

In the meantime he had to keep her safe-even from himself.

Speaking of...

"Don't," Gaara barked out sharply, not once looking in the pink haired woman's direction as he followed the disturbing smell of seawater. The small squeak and scent of her guilt made him grunt in annoyance; had he been the type, he would have rolled his eyes. Did she really think it was smart to try and get away from him when he was probably the only one interested in helping her leave this place alive?

And it had absolutely nothing to do with her being so maddeningly attractive to his hormone ridden, touch-deprived body.

Well, not much, he conceded, remembering the willpower it had taken to step back and not throw her to the ground and rut between her luscious thighs over and over again until she grew fat and round with strong, healthy pups-he shook himself out of his trance and growled before quickening his pace.

Dangerous thoughts, those. Fucking instincts.

…

* * *

Silently a jackal and a coyote paced impatiently at the deck of an anchored boat as the docking board slowly lowered into the shallows of an uncharted island. For a moment, both paused at the splash of water, eying the crashing waves uncertainly; shifters born in the desert such as they had no need for large masses of water. It was only natural that they be so distrustful of it.

Then the jackal butted his large brown form encouragingly against the creamy tan of the female coyote. Her eyes rolled to face his before she gave a low huff and boldly began to trot into the wet, sticky sands and low waters. The brown male gave her a disgruntled snort and reluctantly followed. He knew it was best to allow her to lead; she was higher strung and more likely to get offended if he didn't trust her judgment.

They were in search of someone, and knew the scent they were after, but they would need to get away from the scent of seawater before they could fully concentrate on their search.

They circled away from the coastline, bodies low and cautious in this strange environment. They had never been here before, but they could sense the danger and knew of the devices that may be lurking in this place, tracking their movements.

The female tensed; curious, the male paused, his ears pricked in her direction as she stared intently in one particular direction. A few seconds later, the wind shifted and he was stiffening as well. The strong smell of blood permeated their noses and both shifters gave each other a worried look before the female jerked her head in the direction of the hair-raising scents. The male whined in displeasure but trailed after her anyway as she trotted off into the darkness of the thick jungle like foliage.

…

* * *

"Sir, we've lost contact with the female and one of the males. We can't find their coordinates and no alarm systems have been triggered. Should we send the trackers to retrieve them?" Kabuto's voice was curious, with no hint of alarm or anxiety.

A smirk stretched the thin lips on Orochimaru's pale face. "Which male?" he inquired with a soft hiss. The prodding manner he posed the question seemed quite knowing and unconcerned. If anything, he seemed..._pleased_.

The scientist inspected the nanobot data files, his eyes flashing over the screen as vitals popped up from various males who had been eliminated and those who were still alive. One in particular was actively reporting a massive amount of data. The target's pulse and biorhythm was abnormally active; way higher than that of the other males. A quick, interested series of clicks heralded a report on the male having virtually no trace of the change suppressant in his system. His vitals had wildly fluctuated several times in what had seemed to be a relatively passive reading beforehand before settling on a low stutter of alertness.

The file on the female was brought up. Some suspicion niggled in Kabuto's mind as he observed her biorhythm. It had been unusually high as well, but the stress of the chase hadn't given it a chance to really settle. The various spikes indicated altercations, but they were all relatively short-

Kabuto blinked. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the file he'd just opened. Surely this couldn't be right...

The male's file was side screened to the female's and then it was all he could do not to smile at the irony of it all as both specimen's biorhythms synced up perfectly.

"Well, well," he said. His glasses glinted eerily from the light of the monitor as he checked the subject labels attached to the readings. "It seems RMX-02 has made contact with PFX-01," Kabuto said, thoroughly intrigued. "If they mate..."

"It'll produce one of the most powerful shapeshifters in existence," Orochimaru finished.

There was no mistaking the pleased smile on his face this time.

...

* * *

The soft sounds of their footsteps were grating on Gaara's nerves as the minutes wore on. His own steps were light, but the female's-Sakura's, he corrected himself-were heavy and dragging with weariness. Her earlier jubilation and energy seemed to have drained out of her, leaving nothing but a pale faced, silent woman with a pinched expression behind.

What he wouldn't give to be able to shift and just glide through the trees, his body swift and silent as a wraith. The woman was extra baggage, he knew, but the little bit of common decency he'd gained with age told him that helping this woman was the right thing to do. He himself had been a victim of Orochimaru and Kabuto, once upon a time, so it was natural that he'd want to help her avoid such torture.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" the pink haired woman asked quietly.

A blink was the only indication of him being startled from his thoughts.

"Not really," he said nonchalantly. A brief sideways glance showed apple green eyes clouded with an incredulous stare in his direction.

"Then where the hell, are we going?" She demanded, her stance rapidly shifting from meek to challenging.

Even without the drugs and her beast spiking her hormones, Gaara was sure that this female was domineering and controlling when given the right motivation. His own instincts were insisting that she made the perfect alpha female and that he should mate with her, but he'd long since learned to block out certain urges.

"Stop ignoring me," the pink haired bitch growled.

Gaara paused, an answering growl expanding his chest. Thankfully, he caught himself before he could confront her and cause both of them to lose control. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves-and realized what a bad idea that was a few seconds later when his mouth dried at her scent. He gave the woman a pained look as she continued her challenging stance.

_Annoyance_, Gaara thought resentfully. He had no idea why he'd thought taking along this infuriating female would be a good idea and now he was beginning to regret his decision.

If it wouldn't have played right into their hosts' little plan, he would have fucked the whiny female into submission like his body was currently demanding and left her to fend for herself.

"I'll know when we get where we need to be," he told her tersely and abruptly turned away from her. The scent of seawater was growing stronger, prompting him to lengthen his stride. He really needed to get the hell away from her. "Just keep up," he muttered.

"Asshole," Sakura hissed as she sped up on her aching limbs to try and follow him. Irritated by his lack of response, Sakura discreetly kicked a small rock at his stupid, unsuspecting back.

The redhead merely leaned to the side and dodged it without looking back.

Annoyed, Sakura sniffed and focused on his movements, letting the subtle sway and flow of his body lull her into a light trance. His lean form was singing with barely contained violence, and yet an odd fluidity that drew her attention to his hips. The way he strode made it seem like his steps were a dance waiting to burst into explosion motion. The flex of his broad back muscles, the stretch of his calves leading up to his…

She blinked. Wow, he had a really nice ass. She peeked up and noticed he wasn't paying her much attention, so she drew in a deep breath of his scent.

_Heaven_, her body whispered, and she sighed loudly before licking her lips. Surely letting him have her wouldn't be so bad...

**Snap out of it!** her inner voice shrieked. **You're acting like a bitch in heat!**

_Shit_.

Then an unexpected thought occurred to her so suddenly that it left her floored.

"We're. Naked." she squeaked, halting in her steps. Holy fuck! This entire time, she'd been buck ass _naked _out here with a handsome man, who was _also_ buck ass naked and it was only just _now_ occurring to her that they were both naked and that he had been lying on top of her and...oh gods, that stick that had been poking her _had not really been a stick_.

Gaara turned to her in confusion, his forehead furrowed as he watched a brilliant blush spread from her face to the rest of her body. "Well, generally if you want people to have sex, clothes aren't welcome," he said sarcastically, noting with reluctant appreciation the way her body looked in the wan light.

If she blushed any harder, Gaara was pretty sure her head would explode.

Mercifully, he decided to ignore her sudden shyness and began walking away once more.

Sakura wanted to wrap her arms around herself, but the humid air of the island made that a particularly bad idea. The earlier heat that she had assumed was from mere arousal and excitement had in fact been the moist air battering at her body. A bead of sweat trailed down her temple causing her to wipe at her forehead in annoyance. This heat was making her feel sticky and gross.

As she trailed behind Gaara, Sakura had a sudden thought that she should be complaining far more than she was. Yes, her nakedness was bothering her...but then again she can't really remember the last time she really cared about that since the experiments they'd had her participate in often had her strapped to a table under blinding lights and naked as the day she was born.

_The glint of steel, a sting of pain in her abdomen..._

"_Every drop of blood and every strip of flesh you shed will give birth to something beautiful," _Kabuto's voice echoed from the darkness of her memories.

She shuddered. She really wished she could figure out exactly how she'd gotten to be in Kabuto and Orochimaru's hands. What kind of life had she had? She couldn't be too important if she'd been gone so long without anyone searching for her, but every now and then she got a strange hint of nostalgia when Kabuto fed her tomatoes or she caught the smell of ramen on one of the guards. But every time she strained her memory to think of why that might be, her mind pulled up a blank wall of static in place of what should have been memories. She had no idea how old she was, and only her first name had stuck with her. Had it not been for Orochimaru's inital greeting to her, she would never have known what her last name was, she thought morosely.

The wind shifted, bringing with it a nice cooling breeze and Sakura breathed in relief as some of the heat dispersed from her overheated body. The situation and mood she was in had dampened some of the effects of the pheromones and hormone boosters she'd been injected with, but she still felt this underlying gnawing _need_ to crawl up the strangely attractive redhead's body and wrap herself around him.

The imagery from that thought made Sakura shiver and she licked her lips. How would he react, she wondered? He had seemed to be having a hard time keeping his hands off of her before. All it would take for her to relieve some of the fiery ache in her loins and appease both their lusts would be a little invitation...

So lost was she in her thoughts, Sakura failed to notice that her reluctant escort had frozen until she bumped into his back. The redhead paid her no notice, as he was glaring into the undergrowth, his eyes narrowed and stance strapped with tension. Even as she watched, his nostrils began furiously twitching and a low, threatening growl began rumbling from his broad chest.

Even though everything in her was dying to ask what was wrong, some instinct of self-preservation in Sakura made her remain quiet and she hunched a bit, trying to make herself seem as small and quiet as possible behind the much larger male.

Then she caught the distinct sounds of movement coming towards their way. And judging from the multitude of branches snapping, there was likely more than one coming.

Just _what _was on its way to them, she couldn't tell though.

The sounds stopped just as Sakura could see movement a few feet away and there was the shadow of two large creatures sitting in the darkness just beyond their sight. She could hear the faint sounds of their breathing and smell the salty tang of the ocean on their fur. Then a low, questioning whine came from one of them.

Gaara gave an odd, grunt-like sound before the tension seemed to drain from his form. Puzzled at the behavior, Sakura watched cautiously as two canids she couldn't identify crept into their sight, their eyes trained on Gaara's still form. The impassive stare he gave them must have convinced them it was alright, for the tan female gave a lazy wave of her tail-and suddenly there were two naked, decidedly human looking people crouched in front of them.

An oddly elegant female with shoulder length blond hair gave herself a light shake as a spiky-haired male who could be the dark haired, dark-eyed version of Gaara himself leisurely rose from his crouch, blatantly staring at Sakura's naked form with narrow-eyed interest. The pink haired female bristled, glaring at his leering grin.

"Gaara," the blond said, after a moment of examining the redhead. Her unsmiling mouth curved into a gentle smile for the briefest of moments.

Then her nose twitched. "Something stinks," she added distastefully, giving Sakura a sidelong glance that plainly told just _what_ she was smelling.

"She's with me," the redhead responded, and even Sakura caught the warning note in his tone.

The dark haired man stretched in an exaggerated motion, drawing Sakura's eyes to the long, muscular lines of his body. Like a magnet to metal, her eyes followed the dark line of hair beneath his navel until a low sound of amusement came from the male before her. She blushed and darted her gaze back to his face, dismayed to find that his eyes were settled firmly on her in an oddly intent stare that was distressingly familiar. Slowly, he lowered his arms, body pointing in her direction as his eyes fairly gleamed with feral consideration.

"Kankuro," the redhead snarled, moving to block the other male from her view. The sound of it made Sakura flinch in surprise.

"Whoa, whoa!" the dark haired man said as he held his hands up for peace. "I didn't know she was yours, she just smelled really fucking amazing is all." He tried in vain to peek around the other male at Sakura's embarrassed form. "Cute too, so who's the chick, bro?"

_Bro? Are they…brothers? _Sakura gave them both a cursory glance. Now that she thought about it, she _could_ see a resemblance…

"Idiot," the female snapped giving the one Gaara had called Kankuro a thump on the head. "Can't you see she's scared right now?"

"I'm not scared," Sakura immediately protested, narrowing her eyes at the female. The girl snorted disbelievingly her teal eyes flat and unfriendly. Sakura felt a flash of wild anger flare up as the woman ignored her in favor of the silent redhead. For some reason, she did not like the bold way the woman was acting towards her.

"The boat's here, we just need to go back the way we came. Is she going with us?" the blond asked, all business now.

"Yes," the redhead said, giving his brother a sharp glare when he grinned happily at the news.

Having said his piece, the impassive shapeshifter began to walk off in the direction he'd come, the woman immediately on his heels as if she was used to such behavior from him. Kankuro sighed before exaggeratedly waving his hand behind them.

"After you," he said painstakingly polite.

Sakura scuttled past the male warily, faintly aware that he took a deep, not-so-discreet inhale of her scent as she passed him by. The glare she gave him paled in comparison to the one Gaara gave him when he turned to check their progress.

The woman shook her head and made a leaning motion and then the tanned canine from before was landing neatly on her front paws and shaking herself with a low huff. After a moment, she glanced up at both the redhead and dark-haired man and tilted her head questioningly.

"No," Gaara said stiffly. When a cold, wet nose touched her hand, Sakura gave a squeak of surprise and rubbed at her hand as the dark doglike creature from before gave her a fanged impression of a smile.

God. This was so bizarre. Never in her life did Sakura think she would ever have to deal with mythical creatures like shapeshifters of all things. And now she had not only one but three of them escorting her to parts unknown from a facility that bred and experimented on creatures like them.

_And you might be one now too_, her inner voice whispered.

Life was just too fucking weird right now.

…

* * *

Sakura decided that she did not like the ocean.

It was dark, vast, and endless. The choppy ebb and flow of the waves as the boat glided across the waters made her nervously pace the deck. She was almost constantly compelled to peer into the dark depths and would flinch and shy away from the odd splutter of the motor boat as the ripples of their passing disturbed the murky reflection of the cloudy night sky.

What made it worse, Gaara had his eyes trained unwaveringly on her nervous form as she paced and prowled the small confines of the boat deck. He hadn't said a word to her since the two people that had found them led them through the odd little island's foliage and back to their getaway boat.

She wasn't sure what he was thinking behind those vibrant seafoam eyes of his, but it was not helping to alleviate any of her nervousness of being around two unknown people on a boat in the middle of nowhere after being held captive by two madmen with a fetish for playing God.

She scowled, averting her eyes. What a prick! The guy didn't even have the decency to introduce her to them and had expected her to trust them all enough to take her...somewhere.

Who exactly _were_ the blond woman and the man named Kankuro to him? And why had they just accepted her without complaint? A sideways glance revealed the sneering eyes of the blond woman watching Sakura through the cabin window with blatant distaste.

Well, not any verbal complaints anyway. If Sakura didn't know any better, she'd say that they were...afraid to go against Gaara's wishes.

"Where are you from?" the sudden sound of Gaara's voice startled Sakura into snapping her head up from the darkness of the ocean. Those brilliant teal eyes were staring into her own, patiently waiting for the answer to his question.

"I..." Good fucking question. Where _was_ she from? If only she had some kind of a clue...

"I don't know," she admitted softly, lowering her head so that her bangs covered her eyes from his fiercely intent ones.

"You lost your memory," he said bluntly.

_Thank you, Captain Obvious._

The flash of anger the pink haired woman felt at his utter lack of sympathy or emotion must have shown in the glare she shot at him for he furrowed his eyes and his nostrils flared a bit in what she was sure he _thought_ was a very discreet scenting of her.

She bristled as his eyes widened the slightest bit then narrowed on her. "What are _you_ looking at?" she snapped, hands clenching tight on the railings. Had Sakura been paying closer attention, she would have noticed how the metal clutched in her hands began to bend under her fingers.

"You smell different," Kankuro's voice said, in a low growl. The earlier flirtation and teasing had been replaced by an alarming sense of danger and Sakura stiffened as her eyes shot to his tense form crouched in the doorway of the boat's cabin.

"What...?"

"You're _different_," the male hissed at her, his wild hair and bared teeth making her more than a bit wary.

"Different _how_?"

She was getting frustrated with all this cryptic bullshit and she let out her own aggravated sound as she tried to face both males staring her down. The tension she'd been feeling since getting on the boat mounted and her heart accelerated. Her fingertips felt sore, her skin was too tight, and her gums were aching. God, why were they doing this to her? Where were they taking her? She just wanted...what _did_ she want?

"Go get Temari," Gaara told the other man in a low voice.

"But-"

"_Now_."

Gaara took a step forward, eyes intent on her own. She took a step backward, matching him, her mouth throbbing and heart pounding in her neck like a frantic butterfly trying to free itself from a too-tight cocoon.

"_Stop_," she said. The deep, hissing sound of her command startled her. What was wrong with her voice? Something was wrong...

The distraction was just enough for her to momentarily take her attention off of the approaching male, and it was exactly what Gaara had been waiting for.

He made a grab for the antsy female, long arms ready to pin her and try to calm her, but her reflexes kicked in and she swiftly spun away from his hands by a mere second. The brush of his skin against hers made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Maybe she hadn't been distracted enough, for slitted pupils in now yellow-green eyes locked onto him as she crouched on the other side of the boat's deck away from him and lifted her lips to bare her teeth and began a low, yowling growl in his direction.

_Shit_, Gaara thought. He really really hoped that this potentially unstable woman wasn't going to change on this tiny deck and try to fight him. He had an inkling of what her beast's nature was, but he couldn't be sure. All he knew was that she was fast and dangerous, and he and his siblings were trapped on a boat with a panicking shifter with unknown enhancements that they had no idea how to control.

"Stay away," Sakura hissed, eyeing the male that was cautiously pacing towards her once more. She moaned as pain exploded in her mouth and hands. Gritting her teeth, she started down at the bloodied claws rapidly growing from her thin fingernails and ran her tongue over large, thick canines that she was pretty certain hadn't been there a second ago.

Her hands slid into her pink locks and began to tug as thick, inky black fur began growing over her forearms. Oh gods, it was just like _that time_ before. She couldn't stop It, the burning in her veins, the pain racing through her bones, and she felt like she was splitting apart and going to _die_-

Something thin pierced the back of her neck with a forcible jolt and Sakura snarled in surprise more than pain as she whirled to see the blonde woman's grim face lifting from the scope of the gun she'd just used to fire a tranquilizer at Sakura. The now ebony haired woman covered in fur gave a full body shudder as something swift and fast-acting rapidly began spreading in her bloodstream. _Nonono_ this couldn't be happening; she didn't want to go back! She never should have trusted these strangers!

She stumbled to her feet—nono, too bent to be feet, too long to be paws-and made a lurching motion towards the woman, only to be tackled from behind. Even as she recognized the earthy familiar scent, she shrieked and struggled, jerking around, trying to get him off of her.

As the fog of drugs began flooding her system and consciousness was covered by a haze of darkness, all she could make out was five little words,

"It's for your own good."

...

* * *

A/N: No regular updates, it's generally when I'm inspired, in case you're wondering. FYI, I appreciate every review, fave, and follow I've gotten and will get from everyone. Time permitting, I'll review reply, if not, don't worry; I see it and appreciate it.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Update time, after months of Sakura!muse not talking to me because she feels I am abusing her in this fic. :D

Many thanks to FallenCrimsonStar for betaing for me. :3

* * *

_Sinuous muscles shifted and rolled under inky black fur as yellow-green eyes wheeling with panic darted about. The creature snarled, pacing the tiny cage-like room she had been confined to. Just when she had thought she had achieved freedom, she was once more caged by someone. A snarl ripped from a whiskered muzzle and the pacing picked up in its frenzy. _

_She had to get out of here! This place smelled wrong. There was no trace of any scent anywhere around here. Even the mate smell of the Strong One was absent; it was as if he had never touched her, and it made her nervous knowing that she was all alone in a strange place. There was no clean air, no water, no food..._

_A faint sound broke the creature's concentration, causing her to still and her ears to prick warily. Her head lifted slowly, and then the faintest of scents began registering to her senses. _

_Chartreuse eyes widened in alarm and the predator slinked away from the horribly familiar smell to crouch in a corner far away from it, growling a threat to an invisible enemy. She had experienced this before; she knew she could not escape. After a few minutes of breathing in the cloying scent, her frantic panting reduced to deep huffs, the tensed muscles of her body began to relax as they numbed, and her eyelids drooped heavily as her large sleek body began to curl in on itself._

_A weak yowl was all she managed as she lay on her side, waiting for the inevitable._

…

* * *

Pain…that was the first and only thing Sakura registered as she began to regain consciousness.

Her mouth ached, her muscles were sore, and she...had no idea what had happened.

_What was I doing?_

_The glint of steel in light. _

_Golden eyes and a flickering tongue._

Sakura went rigid as a board. Kabuto. Orochimaru. What time of day was it? Were they going to perform more experiments soon? God, her schedule was all kinds of fucked up and there was no telling when they would begin their torture.

_Wrong,_ something inside her whispered.

Blood colored hair, intense blue green eyes; a warm body against her..._anger, fear, and lust_.

Realization slowly began to dawn on her. She'd been taken away from those two madmen hadn't she? If that was the case...she forced her eyes open and sat up slowly, surprised to find herself clothed in a simple hospital gown and covered by a thin blanket. She glanced around the room, noting the IV attached to her arm but the distinct lack of shackles that usually accompanied it. She put a hand to her throbbing temple and winced as her broken memory strained to fill in the blanks.

That's right...she'd been saved from Orochimaru and Kabuto by that Gaara fellow and his friends.

And then she'd...well, she's not quite sure what happened, other than anger, pain, and then darkness. As if conjured by the thought, another stab of white hot pain made spots danced across Sakura's vision. She groaned and clutched at her hair trying her best to ride out the sudden wave of nausea and disorientation. Her eyes squeezed closed as her knuckles whitened with the force of her grip.

"Fuck," she panted, chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. That had been intense and beyond uncomfortable. Her knees drew up against her chest and she pressed her forehead to them, trying her best to ride out the pain as she buried her fingers into her pink strands-it wouldn't be the first time after all. She groaned, breath stuttering out unevenly as she rocked a bit to try and soothe herself.

"Easy," a male voiced said calmly, and Sakura startled at the feel of cool hands lightly touching her own, in order to gently untangle them from her hair. "You shouldn't strain yourself so soon."

Surprised, the pink haired woman forced her eyes open; and was met by the sight of a young male with dark hair pulled into a spiky ponytail staring at her with fathomless, concerned eyes. Where in the hell had he come from? With her hearing and sense of smell, she should have realized he was there a lot sooner than she had. Sakura pulled her knees tighter against her chest and stared at the stranger with unwavering focus bordering on hostility.

"Who...?"

"Nara Shikamaru. Do you remember what happened before you woke up here?"

The chase, the fire in her body and soul, those _eyes_ and that _smell_…

_Gaara_.

"Where am I?" the pink haired woman asked in a low voice, her emerald eyes bright with uncertainty as she deliberately ignored the question.

Despite her best efforts however, a bit of her anxiety must have been showing in her voice, for the male carefully backed away from the bed and held his hands out palm up, clearly showing her the absence of any weapons or needles. "Don't worry we're far away from where you were. No one here is out to harm you or force you to do anything," he said firmly, trying to appear non-threatening while his dark eyes carefully watched her for a reaction.

For some reason, Sakura found herself wanting to believe the man. Her tense form relaxed a bit and she took a deep breath before glancing around with much less panic than before. That's right...this place couldn't possibly be Orochimaru and Kabuto's little lair. It had that same sterile smell but without that underlying hint of blood, sweat, and fear staining it. Even the musky odor of snakes, which Orochimaru exuded like some cheap perfume, was glaringly absent.

"We're currently in an underground shifter hospital on the outskirts of Suna. When we're sure you can handle it, we'll try to take you out and see if we can't jog your memory a bit."

The pink haired woman frowned. Suna, what, or rather _where _was that? Though her memories of her life were blurred, Sakura had no problems remembering random bits of trivial information and locations. But she had never heard of this Suna before.

Narrow onyx eyes stared at the pink haired woman with hidden intrigue. This Sakura was a mystery and Shikamaru always did love trying to solve a good puzzle. Despite his aversion to complicated situations, he had to admit, this one definitely took the cake.

On one hand, you have a woman of unknown origin with highly coveted genetics is taken by a power-hungry shapeshifter and his genetically engineering subordinate and given unknown enhancements for the sole purpose of breeding. On the other hand, you have a previously feral shifter male known to have been bred for and experimented on for half of his life contained in the same facility.

Obviously the goal here is to breed the two, but for what purpose, simply a powerful child? No, genetics were varied enough that the chances of them producing a child with the X gene wasn't guaranteed. There was also the fact that there had been other males in the vicinity vying for rights with the woman, but that could have been just for show.

It was quite possible and highly likely that the snake man had probably altered something very important in this woman.

The calculating look in the Nara man's eyes was making her nervous. Sakura tensed, her sore muscles sluggishly responding as she unwound her hands from around her knees; warily, she shifted her back to the wall and subtly bent her feet to ready herself for a quick exit from the bed. She didn't like this at all. There was no hint of Orochimaru and Kabuto, but there was an unknown male with unknown intentions alone in a room with her and eyeing her like one would a lab rat, after she'd been fighting in a life or death battle for mating rights not all that long ago.

She would kill this man only if she really had to, of course; there was no _way_ she would leave one madman's hands and go willingly into another's. Her green eyes slitted and a low, almost undetectable growl was given to the calm young man who was watching her like an insect under a magnifying glass.

Thankfully, the burning heat of the pheromones and drugs Kabuto had pumped her full of seemed to have left her system; there was no embarrassing neediness or arousal. All she felt right now was unease and slight anger. Tentatively, her nostrils flared as she gave him a light sniff...

...only to recoil in disgust and surprise at the sheer foulness of the odor the male before her was giving off.

_How_ had she not noticed him before? It was so _horrible_. Like the sickly sweet smell of decaying flesh piled with the sulphuric tang of rotting eggs and strange herbs. The pink haired lycanthrope eyes watered and she felt her lungs constrict painfully at the stench as she coughed in a weak attempt at clearing her nose and lungs of it. The unease hovering on the edges of her mind flared and the shadows of the poorly lit room seemed to darken. Oddly enough, some of them seemed to slither and waver towards her. Sakura's heart began to race and her eyes darted to the door, carefully judging the distance she'd need to make it there.

"Troublesome," the man murmured, and suddenly the air was a lot less oppressive. "You really are one of them," Shikamaru muttered, making Sakura blink in confusion.

Perhaps he could sense the confusion, or maybe she was just too easy to read; either way, the Nara man shook his head and grumbled, "You shifters all act like I'm going to kill you once you get a good whiff of me. Then again, my kind isn't exactly known for being nice guys."

"Your kind?" Sakura echoed, watching the pony tailed man with wide eyes. "You're not...human or shifter?"

"Yes and no."

When no further explanation was given, Sakura glared. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Women," he muttered before holding out his hand.

Curious, Sakura stared warily as the man's opaque gaze focused on his own palm. After a second, the air grew cold, almost foreboding, and a small, pinprick of inky blackness began to mold and form. The small ball seemed to suck all of the shadows from around them and began to spin in the air compressing the darkness tighter and tighter.

Stunned, the pink haired woman shivered at the aura of icy malevolence that choked the air from her lungs, her green eyes wide and frightened. Her instincts were screaming at her to fight and flee; the contradiction was making her already smarting headache turn into a full blown migraine.

A low whine spilled from her lips without her consent or notice.

"Enough," a distressingly familiar voice snapped harshly from the doorway, breaking her frightened trance. "Are all males idiots or something?"

Sakura flinched as the blond woman responsible for her "rescue" strode into the room, bringing with her a fierce wash of energy that left her reeling in shock. The sheer difference in the woman's heated energy from the coldness of the shadows was like a slap in the face and it made her swallow thickly, as if she were trying to clear cotton balls from her throat.

But at least she could _breathe_ now.

The blond and the dark haired man eyed each other, one with a tense vibrancy, and the other with almost perfect blankness. After a moment though, the Nara man's face softened the slightest bit and the shadow ball dispersed into nothingness. The room seemed noticeably brighter afterwards.

"Troublesome woman," the man called Shikamaru sighed before lazily making his way to the door, well aware of the experimental shifter's distrusting gaze on his back.

The blonde woman grunted in response before rolling her eyes at his retreating back. She was watching the Nara male as well, although with none of the fear and wariness that Sakura was displaying. In fact, her bright eyes fairly gleamed with poorly hidden annoyance. "Who let _you_ in here anyway?"

"I was asked to determine if she was a threat and eliminate her if she was," the apathetic man said in a disturbingly offhand manner. "She didn't wake up craving my blood or trying to snap my neck, so I'd say she's fine."

The blonde sneered, giving Sakura and the indifferent male a flash of sharp canines in the process. The sight gave the already confused and perturbed Sakura even more reason to be wary.

As if sensing her unease (and maybe she could, Sakura wasn't sure), the woman turned perceptive teal eyes on the quietly observing experiment.

The flinch Sakura gave made something soft and almost regretful flicker through her hard eyes. And then it was gone as if Sakura had only imagined it.

"Do you know what you are?" the woman asked contemptuously.

Unconsciously, Sakura bristled. From the sound of the woman's tone, it was clearly implied that whatever she thought Sakura was it was less than pleasant.

Emerald green eyes narrowed on foggy teal that looked oddly familiar.

"Like you," she finally answered with a frown after a considerable amount of time. Pink eyebrows rose in silent challenge to the blonde's immediate scoff.

"_Lycanthrope_," the blond spat in distaste. "You're _nothing_ like me. I don't know why my brother dragged you along, but you nearly killed-"

"That's enough, Temari," a low rough voice rasped from the doorway.

The familiar sound sent a bolt of recognition through her body. The hairs on Sakura's neck bristled even as she jumped in surprise and swivelled her head to see piercing aquamarine eyes narrowed dangerously through a curtain of crimson hair at the woman that had been confronting her. Somehow, even with their sensitive hearing and noses, the man who had been on Sakura's mind since awakening had come into the room without either woman noticing.

She was getting sick of people sneaking up on her, but at least this time it hadn't been just her, she mused watching the other woman's brief start.

"Temari leave," he ordered calmly, not even looking at Sakura's reaction to his sudden appearance. His arms were crossed as he leaned against the open doorway and his intense gaze was settled on that of his sister who looked mutinous at the order he'd given her.

"But Gaara-"

"_Leave_," He rumbled impatiently, straightening from his deceptively lazy lean to clear the doorway for her.

Sakura watched tensely as the blonde's lip curled in a silent snarl baring many sharp looking teeth, her teal eyes flashing with some repressed emotion before the redhead's own bright eyes met hers in challenge.

"Fine," she snapped after a long look at Sakura's huddled form. Temari gave the pink-haired lycanthrope a final parting sneer before striding gracefully from the room, her stiff posture clearly broadcasting her displeasure.

For a moment, the room was completely silent save for the hum of the machines and the sound of her own awkward breathing, but finally, Sakura gathered her courage and raised her head from the floor and parted her lips to speak to him, only to jolt in surprise at the intense aqua eyes unflinchingly meeting her own. The redhead stalked closer with his signature predatory prowl, making her stiffen uncertainly before she clenched her jaw and stubbornly held her ground. If they had wanted to kill her, they would have already done so, or simply left her at Kabuto and Orochimaru's mercies.

To Sakura's dismay, a warm, familiar sensation tightened something low in her body as the male stopped inches away from her, his impassive expression contradicted by the animalistic fire in his eyes. Only this time, there were no drugs to blame for their reactions and they were both fully clothed and aware of what was going on. She watched his nostrils flare and knew without a doubt that he was scenting her just as surely as she could feel herself doing the same.

That incredible scent was still there, just muted without the benefit of adrenaline enhanced senses and Sakura's eyes darkened as she gazed silently up at Gaara. Her tongue flicked out to wet her dry lips nervously and her present company watched the motion with undisguised interest, making her extremely uncomfortable but she continued to stare at him.

Finally, he looked away first; his brilliant eyes shuttered by his lids as he drew a deep breath and blew it out once more. Even his tensed stance had somewhat relaxed.

"My sister is...overprotective of her pack mates," he said, making Sakura blink in surprise at the suddenness of the apology.

"So that's your-"

"Yes."

"I don't think she likes me very much," Sakura admitted her pink brows furrowed in bemusement.

The redhead shrugged. "She doesn't trust you. You're an unknown, unmated female and you're in our territory."

The pink haired woman looked away, unwilling to comment. It wasn't as if she had planned on invading their territory. If she knew who she was, then she wouldn't be in this predicament. For the millionth time, Sakura wondered why exactly _she_ had been the one chosen by Orochimaru and what sort of life she'd led that she didn't have any family or friends who had come for her like Gaara's had.

It was sort of depressing.

To Gaara, the look on Sakura's face was pitiful enough to warrant some kind of action. The helplessness he was feeling at not being able to help her cope was annoying. But what could he do for the female? Maybe if he knew her a bit better, it wouldn't be such a problem, but they were virtually strangers and Gaara was not one to be too terribly social in the best of circumstances.

_What would Naruto do?_ He wondered.

And the answer came to him: swift, short, and simple.

"I'll help you," Gaara's low voice came from her side, startling Sakura out of her gloomy thoughts. Judging from the half-startled, half-sour look on his own face, he hadn't exactly been planning on saying that out loud either.

Sakura gave him a hesitant nod, emerald eyes brighter and her lips curled into a soft yet grateful smile.

The redhead merely looked away, his body uncomfortably hot and his face contorting into irritated surprise at his own impulsiveness.

…

* * *

Why had he said that?

What did it matter to him whether the strange female was returned to wherever she belonged or not? He wondered, baffled at his own words and his unusual reaction to her gratefulness.

Hours after his conversation with Sakura, Gaara found himself wandering a few miles from the shifter hospital and aimlessly wandering in the pale light of the crescent moon. Night in Suna was most often unbearably cold, but shapeshifters were creatures that were notorious for being able to adapt to almost any environment, so long as they had enough resources available. He himself was well known for having unfathomable endurance, even for a shifter, as an obvious side effect of the "legacy" his father had left him.

Given that the moon was out-even if only partially-he felt the need to just _run_, but his thoughts were much too jumbled and off balance to even consider the idea right now. If he pushed it back and tried to ignore them, then he'd only end up waking up tomorrow with a flood of repressed irritation; there would be an inevitably snapped comment at one of his well-meaning siblings and then he'd have to spend an unnecessary amount of time trying to repair the damage of hurt feelings. For people that Gaara had initially had no regard or concern for other than when they would allow him to feed, Kankuro and Temari's opinions and approval had become nearly sacred to him. They had saved him from Orochimaru's greedy hands, taken him in when others in their pack had called for his exile or execution, _and _they had put up with his feral mannerisms and general rudeness in a tireless effort to socialize and tame him.

Gaara would be eternally grateful for having those two as his siblings.

_But who would be there for the mysterious Sakura?_ A tiny vaguely Naruto-like voice whispered in his mind. She had no one-that _they _knew of anyway-and she was just sort of drifting around as she recovered, trying to find herself.

Stupid conscience: it had no right guilt tripping him into this.

Growling to himself the shapeshifter looked into the sky his teal eyes rapidly swirling into a hazy gold. His eyes narrowed as he thought of the pink haired woman he knew that he would be seeing a lot more of. Their first meeting had not been ideal-in fact, it had been something out of a bad horror film that-but something about Sakura had simply _appealed_ to him. Her scent especially made him feel as if he'd regressed back into that feral, attention starved experimental mutt with an enormous chip on his shoulder.

He never wanted to go back to being that unwanted creature ever again.

From his sitting position, the tall male leaned over, his back arched and fingers spread wide.

Paws touched down in the desert night, and a scrawny somewhat aggravated jackal shook itself with a grunt, shifting the grains of the dune where a lean tall human male had been seconds ago.

The sandy-furred mammal gave a huff, his golden eyes peering around in annoyance at the freezing breeze sending stinging sand into its eyes. Bright teeth gleamed in a grimace before the jackal padded off toward the horizon at a low trot, never once looking back.

Weaknesses like human emotion had no place in an unforgiving environment like the desert after all.


End file.
